They say third time’s a charm.

 

“Hi there.”

 

But Minjeong cannot, for the life of her, see the charm in meeting Karina freaking Yoo for the third time in less than a week.

 

“We meet again Kim Minjeong.”

 

Minjeong remembered blinking at the woman for a good five seconds before her soul decided to come back to her body and save her from making a fool of herself even more.

 

“Y-you..” she squeaked, clearly taken aback at the sudden presence of the very person who caused her headache throughout the day. But Minjeong immediately collected herself when she remembered the instruction given to them by their boss, “I’m sorry ma’am but we’re close. You can just come back tomorrow.”

 

For some reason, Karina Yoo just stared at her, sporting a knowing look that crawls under Minjeong’s skin.

 

“Miss..”

 

Just then, Minjeong heard her boss call her, “It’s okay Minjeong,” Yeri says, “She’s the guest I was talking about.”

 

Right then and there, Minjeong was pretty convinced that the universe and all the planets, aligned or not, have conspired to give her a permanent headache.

 

Of course, out of the fifty million something population in the entire country, Karina Yoo would have to be the very close acquaintance her boss was expecting. Just great!

 

“Took you long enough to come around, Yoo.” Minjeong heard her boss huffing, though the tone in her voice gave away her delight, “Where’s Wendy unnie?”

 

The door chimed again and entered a woman smaller than Karina Yoo. Minjeong remembered her to be the same woman assisting the celebrity during the meet and greet.

 

“Sorry! I had to find some parking space since your front’s full.” the said woman cried and Minjeong thinks that for her petite figure, she is rambunctious. “Yerimieee! I missed you so much come give your unnie a hug!”

 

The woman, presumably the one named Wendy from the looks of it, ran towards the owner of the restaurant, earning her a horrendous screech of “Don’t come near me you hag!” from Yeri.

 

Minjeong is so so lost at what was transpiring right before her eyes that she simply stood there, mouth slightly ajar and hand still up in the air for when she was trying to reach the chain of the window drapes hanging above.

 

She was a little too distracted at the bickering of the two women she didn’t notice a lanky figure suddenly hovering above her. Minjeong only realized their sudden close proximity when a tangy but fruity scent of cologne invaded her nostrils.

 

Was that Jo Malone?

 

“W-what are you—”

 

Minjeong’s poor attempt of speaking coherently was halted when the sound of the window rollers squeaked beside her, the view of the nighttime Seoul outside nowhere to be seen.

 

The only thing Minjeong could clearly see right now is Karina Yoo’s mole sitting pretty under the side of her lips that is, apparently, in Minjeong’s line of vision from where she stands (which is very very close hello).

 

“You’re so tiny you couldn’t even reach it.” Karina Yoo breathes, teasing and light, “Are kids even allowed to work here?”

 

That snapped Minjeong out from the stupor the girl’s beauty mark had somehow gotten her into, darting her head up with a glare. “I’m not a minor,” she grits through her teeth, taking a step back with a bubbling disdain for the celebrity. “And I’m not tiny. I could’ve reached it if you didn’t interfere.”

 

“Maybe if you tiptoed a bit more, you could have. But not without hurting yourself.” Karina Yoo answers with an easy smile, “You’re welcome.”

 

With that, the celebrity sauntered away from Minjeong, a grace in her walk that screamed elegance and mischief and victory. Minjeong was left fuming in silence, blaming the entire universe because she started the day with Karina Yoo’s name bombarding her and will end it with Karina Yoo herself right in front of her.

 

Gotta remind herself to wear that darn lucky underwear tomorrow.

 

“Is that Karina Yoo??”

 

Minjeong turns her head when Haechan (whom she was certain was closing the windows on the other side of the diner) was suddenly standing beside her, “You know her?”

 

“Who doesn’t?” barks the boy like it’s the most obvious thing, staring dreamily at Karina Yoo’s retreating figure, “She’s the biggest star right now. Wow she’s really here breathing the same air as me..”

 

Minjeong bites back a remark about how literally everyone breathes the same air as Karina Yoo, settling with a disgusted look on her face that Haechan, unfortunately, cannot see because he was too occupied staring at the celebrity.

 

“What are you doing?” Minjeong sees Haechan take his phone out from his pocket, opening it to his camera.

 

“Just gonna take some photos. I’m a big fan.” Minjeong snatches the phone away from his big hands in no time. “Hey!”

 

“You don’t take photos of women without their permission, mister.” Minjeong hisses, glaring at her co-worker who is getting worked up for having his phone snatched away from him. “Don’t you know anything about privacy and consent?”

 

Haechan scoffed at this, incredulity written all over his face. “Why are you being so tight about it when Dispatch literally exists, Minjeong. It’s them who don’t know privacy and consent.”

 

“Then you are no better than them if you take pictures of Karina Yoo in a closed space where she’s supposed to be privately enjoying dinner with her friends.” Minjeong retorts, fire in her eyes. “And she is Yeri unnie’s friend above all that. Why do you think she instructed us to close the place before her guests arrived? Do you want to get yourself fired once she knows about your little stunt?”

 

“I wouldn’t if she will not know..” Haechan mumbles and Minjeong’s blood boiled.

 

Men.

 

“She will.” Minjeong taunts and speed-walks towards their boss who was casually talking with her guests in one of the tables. She can hear Haechan’s panicked call from behind but she was determined to teach the boy a lesson for his tactless behavior.

 

“Yeri unnie.”

 

Three heads shot up from her call, their bickering coming into a pause when they saw Minjeong standing above them.

 

“What is it Minjeong-ah?”

 

Albeit flustered at the sudden attention she was getting, Minjeong musters up the courage to get things out of her chest. She won’t let Haechan get away with whatever it was he was planning.

 

“Haechan wa—”

 

However, before Minjeong could even finish her sentence, a large, sweaty palm suddenly covered .

 

“Mmmm mmmmm mmmmm!!”

 

Yeri sends them a frown. “What’s going on?”

 

“Nothing noona! Minjeong and I are just playing!” Haechan defends, panicked eyes looking around the three women with Minjeong squirming from his tight hold, “I’m sorry, you know how Minjeong gets when she’s excited right?”

 

“Mmmm mmmm mmmmmm!!”

 

Minjeong muffled even more but Haechan was stronger, “You can go on with your conversation noona. We’ll be in the kitchen if you need us.”

 

He basically dragged Minjeong’s petite figure away from the table and towards their kitchen (unaware of a pair of feline eyes particularly watching their every move). When Haechan was certain that they were away enough from earshot, he finally let go of Minjeong.

 

And what happened when Elsa was freed from concealing and feeling and finally let it go? She let the storm rage on.

 

“Owww! Owww! Hey!”

 

Minjeong, driven by the events that led her to be lugged away like a helpless puppy, kicked Haechan’s shin with passion and started hitting him with her fist.

 

“Yah yah yah! Stop it Minjeong-ah! I’m your oppa!”

 

“On god, we are equal.” Minjeong shrieks, hitting Haechan with every fiber of her being. “And right now, you are that who tried to take unsolicited photos of a celebrity in her private affair. I hate people, men to be exact, who don’t know anything about space and consent!”

 

She despises looking weak and helpless infront of (pretty) people, let alone be manhandled by a boy. Ooohhh there’s a storm raging inside of Minjeong she could literally end one, reckless Haechan at the moment.

 

“Okay okay I’m sorry! Cut it out! I said I’m sorry!”

 

“Woah.. what’s happening here?” comes the surprised but still swag inquiry of their resident chef Mark Lee. “What did he do this time?”

 

Minjeong stopped her attacks when Mark’s mocking giggle reached her ears. “Ask him. I don’t want to waste time putting into words how disrespectful he was.”

 

“I said I’m sorry Minjeong-ah~” Whimpered the boy who had been on the other end of Kim Minjeong’s wrath, nursing his tortured arms, “Didn’t know you’d be jealous like that.”

 

Minjeong lost it again, now more than sure that she could murder and taint her hands with blood if it means the world will be one less of a man.

 

Haechan’s whimpers of pain and Mark’s happy cheers urging Minjeong to hit him harder fill up the almost empty kitchen (Minjeong could have done it all night) until their petite boss Kim Yerim appears at the door.

 

“You still not done playing?”

 

The three of them straightens up upon seeing their leader of the band, Minjeong still sending the whimpering Haechan daggers through her eyes while Mark tries to contain his giggles.

 

“Chicken parmesan for three, extra cheese on one because my friend has this weird obsession over cheese,” Yeri instructs Mark who immediately went to work after an enthusiastic ‘coming right up’, “Please prepare the table while Mark’s preparing the dish, Minjeong,” to which Minjeong replied with a willing nod, “..And you,” Yeri turned to Haechan with a pointed look, “I saw what you tried to do there, young man,” shaking her head in disappointment. “Since I can’t fire you because I’m short with people, you’re doing the dishes for the entire month. Don’t do it again, Chan. They’re my friends and I expected you to respect that.”

 

Haechan bowed his head in shame, mumbling an apology that sounded so sorry in Minjeong’s ears but only because he was caught in 4K.

 

“Alright. Let’s get moving so we can all go home after these annoying idiots are fed and full.”

 

 

***

 

 

(“If I were Yeri unnie, I would have given you more than one month.”

 

“Good thing you’re not then.”

 

“She likes girls…generation. I could easily persuade her.”

 

“No, you won’t.”

 

“Watch me.”

 

“Yah Kim Minjeong!”

 

“How about an entire semester? Yeah I think that would do it.”

 

“Yaahh!”)

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Minjeong always believed in her sixth sense. More than in a paranormal way, she treats this sixth perception as her voice of reason or moral compass. In laymen’s term, it’s a gut feeling. But in Minjeong’s vocabulary (for the lack of better term), she would like to call it the Karina feeling.

 

You see, after the first night of Karina Yoo suddenly appearing at their diner for a surprised dinner with their boss Yeri (who turned out to be the celebrity’s close friend), the woman, for some strange reason, started visiting the restaurant on a regular basis.

 

At first, Minjeong simply thought Karina Yoo has taken into liking the Chicken Parmesan with extra cheese (she turned out to be that friend who had weird obsession over cheese) their chef had expertly prepared. It’s their best-seller after all and who doesn’t like chicken parmesan with extra cheese melting inside your mouth with much gusto.

 

It was understandable especially when Minjeong remembered how Karina Yoo reacted when she first tasted the popular Chicken Parmesan.

 

“Mmmm, this tastes good!” Minjeong remembers the face of delight Karina Yoo sported when she tentatively tasted a spoonful of the dish (not that Minjeong had been observing, why would she, she just happened to be there when Karina Yoo started consuming the food right after she served it okay), “Did you cook this Kim Minjeong?”

 

Minjeong remembered getting flustered for a moment because her boss eyed her suspiciously for the way she was addressed by her friend.

 

“You know each other?” she recalled her Yeri unnie looking so surprised.

 

“Kinda. She was at my concert last Saturday.” Karina Yoo revealed, much to Yeri’s utter surprise, yet again.

 

“You were at her concert??” Yeri blurted out in awe, as if she couldn’t believe her ears. Minjeong couldn’t blame her, “Here I thought you’re the hipster kind of girl, not much into pop and all that noise kids listen to these days.”

 

Minjeong remembered attempting to defend herself but she was beaten to it by Karina Yoo, to defend herself of course.

 

“Hey! Are you saying my songs are noise?” It was a breath of fresh air for Minjeong to see Karina Yoo getting worked up instead of her.

 

“If the shoe fits, Yoo. Why not?” her boss had teased which earned her a deep-throated scoff from the celebrity and a loud cackle from the other woman named Wendy, “To put it differently, you are mainstream and my dear hipster Minjeong here is simply not the type to listen to mainstream. So it was kind of a surprise to know she’s a fan.”

 

“I’m not,” Minjeong recalled blurting out as soon as Yeri finished, not wanting to get robbed of a chance to talk again, “I-I was just dragged by Ningning because she didn’t have anyone to accompany her during the concert. I have no idea who she was before the event.”

 

Her statement earned a couple of ooohhhs that didn’t come from Karina Yoo. All she got from the celebrity was raise of a brow and a blank expression painted all over her face.

 

Minjeong was not sure if she did the right or wrong thing of not filtering her words (which she usually never does as a matter of fact) because while Karina Yoo was looking all ready to kill her with her looks, her boss and Wendy, on the other hand, looked seriously amused there was delight glinting in their eyes.

 

It was as if they were waiting for this exact moment to happen in their entire lives.

 

When Minjeong excused herself from the table after serving their food, she could absolutely feel Karina Yoo’s eyes boring holes on the side of her head and clearly hear the awestruck murmurs of the other two women on the table.

 

 

(“Wow. Someone who doesn’t know Karina Yoo.. that’s a first.”

 

“Minjeongie has always been built differently. Not so surprised.”

 

“She looked like someone around Jimin’s age though. How come she doesn’t know her?”

 

“Maybe Korea’s princess is not that interesting after all.”

 

“Oh stop it. Just eat up and don’t mind her, Jimin-ah. Your unnie’s just trolling you.”

 

“Yeah she’s a troll. Her height is that of one.”

 

“As if you’re that tall. PLEASE.”

 

“At least a lot taller than you. How old are you again? You look like five.”

 

“UNGRATEFUL CHILD! TAKE THAT BACK!”

 

“Oh my god stop it you two!”)

 

 

For a second Minjeong thought that the celebrity would hate her for saying that, feeling a little, just a little, bad for being so straightforward about her disinterest. As much as Karina Yoo annoyed the heck out of her, Minjeong doesn’t want to intentionally hurt someone.

 

However, every iota of guilt flew out of Minjeong’s head the moment Karina Yoo came trudging down the greasy floors of their diner the following night at the exact same time, as if she was rubbing her existence on Minjeong’s face.

 

“I want Kim Minjeong to serve the food on my table, Yeri unnie. Only her. Thanks.”

 

Minjeong’s brows almost went flying past her hairline when her boss told her, a resigned look on her face because apparently, Karina Yoo doesn’t take a no for an answer.

 

“It’s just a few minutes, Minjeong-ah. Don’t worry she doesn’t bite.”

 

Maybe she doesn’t. Maybe it’s Minjeong who wants to bite Karina Yoo’s big head off her body so she would just stop sending that kind of smirk that ticks Minjeong off.

 

“Sit down, Kim Minjeong.”

 

Minjeong almost dropped the fork she was setting down the table, “I’m sorry?”

 

“I said sit down.” Karina Yoo repeated as if she just told her the weather forecast for the night.

 

“Uh, I can’t. I have something to do in the kitchen.” Minjeong reasoned.

 

“It can wait. Sit down.”

 

“I—” Minjeong darted her eyes to the other girl on the table, Wendy, silently asking her for help, anything.

 

“Jimin-ah, Minjeong is working. You shouldn’t disturb her.”

 

“Isn’t she working right now?” Karina Yoo defends as a matter of fact, “Isn’t it part of her job to make sure that the customer is well fed and truly enjoys her meal?”

 

“Well, yes but—“

 

“Then I see no problem in me asking for her to sit down and join me.” Karina turns her head to Wendy with finality blazing in her eyes. “Kindly tell Yeri unnie that Kim Minjeong will be here with me, Wendy unnie. At least for the next twenty minutes.”

 

And twenty minutes it went.

 

It was the longest, most exasperating twenty minutes of Minjeong’s life that she doesn’t want to relive.

 

All she did was glare and scoff and glare some more because Karina Yoo seemed so happy munching on her food while watching Minjeong lose her wits across the table.

 

“Do you want to eat?” Karina Yoo probed, “Are you hungry?”

 

“I’m angry,” Minjeong grumbles, eyes looking anywhere but Karina Yoo.

 

“What was it?”

 

“I said no, thanks. I don’t want to eat.” Minjeong answers with a pained smile on her face, already pulling Karina Yoo’s hair inside her head.

 

“Oh okay. You’re missing out on this chicken parmesan. It’s so delicious.”

 

Minjeong thinks she is missing out a lot for not hitting Karina Yoo in the head, maybe if she does the girl will snap out of the bubble she is in and wake her up from her self-importance?

 

The idea was pretty inviting.

 

And maybe Minjeong should have done it the moment the idea crossed her mind. Maybe she really should have so her torture could have stopped on the second night because Karina Yoo, for reasons Kim Minjeong cannot truly fathom, decided to visit the diner again on the third night.

 

(“Sit down Kim Minjeong.”

 

“Wha—again?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“..but I’m working Miss Yoo.”

 

“This is working.”

 

“No it’s not I—”

 

“I said sit down.”

 

“But Yeri unnie—”

 

“Just sit down let me handle Yeri unnie.”

 

“Oh my god.”)

 

 

Then on the fourth.

 

 

(“Sit down, Kim Minjeong.”

 

“Not this again.”

 

“Yes it is again.”

 

“Miss Yoo.”

 

“Don’t worry. I already talked to Yeri unnie about this. She knows.”

 

“What..”

 

“Just sit down Kim Minjeong my food’s getting cold.”

 

“Oh my godddd.”)

 

 

Fifth.

 

 

(“See, it’s a better experience for the both of us if you just cooperate and gladly join me for dinner.”

 

“I am coerced but I realized I still get paid for doing this so.. whatever.”

 

“You’re a smart woman Kim Minjeong.”

 

“And you’re an oppressor, Miss Yoo.”

 

“Now now that’s a big word coming from a small person.”

 

“I am not a small person…”

 

“Hate to break it to you but you are.”

 

“I am no— you know what, just eat… Just eat and feed yourself. Please. For the love of god.”

 

“Kekeke.. Alright Kim Minjeong.”)

 

 

Crust, Minjeong already lost track of the number of times Karina Yoo appeared on their entrance at around 10pm in the evening, ready to order her seemingly favorite Chicken Parmesan and annoy the life out of Minjeong over and over again.

 

They barely talked about anything. For the most part, it would be Karina Yoo throwing some remarks that mostly left Minjeong glaring and cursing the girl under her breath. It usually ends with Karina Yoo grinning at her like a child, looking so happy at the expense of Minjeong’s sanity and convenience.

 

(Not gonna lie, the smile Karina Yoo gives her at every end of the scheduled twenty minutes always made the girl’s mental torture, somehow, more bearable.)

 

(But Minjeong would never admit it out loud. Heck no. Over her dead body.)

 

“Oh you’re here again?” Minjeong heard her boss Yeri ask someone from the counter while she herself was wiping a table on the farthest side of the diner. It’s another closing time for the restaurant and they are all starting to tidy things up.

 

Around this time would also be the arrival of one, annoying brat Minjeong had been expecting and boy was she right.

 

When she looked up, she met Karina Yoo’s piercing brown swirls that Minjeong could clearly see even from a distance. She decided not to look away from the penetrating gaze.

 

For once, Minjeong wants to size up Karina Yoo and her intense stare instead of turning away like a wussy.

 

“Yeah. I think I’m hooked with your chicken.” Minjeong heard Karina Yoo answer the previous question, gaze stuck on her, “With extra cheese okay. And I want Kim Minjeong to serve it again. On—”

 

“Only her, yes.” Yeri finished, tired and knowing, “I get it, Yoo. Go get a table. I’ll let Minjeong bring it to you.”

 

From a distance, pretty boy Renjun suddenly appeared beside peeping Minjeong, successfully breaking the intense staring contest the latter was having with Karina Yoo. (Minjeong would have to thank him later for that)

 

“You’re done?” he was talking about the dirty dishes Minjeong set aside when she wiped the table off, “Here let me bring it to the kitchen.”

 

“No no, it’s okay. I can bring it there, Renjun..”

 

“It’s okay I’m going there now. I can bring them.” The boy flashed Minjeong a warm smile, a stark contrast to the mischievous ones Haechan would always send her, “You can rest for a bit Minjeong-ah. It’s closing time anyway.”

 

Kim Minjeong doesn’t need to be told twice.

 

When the boy left, a feeling of someone staring at her made Minjeong turn her head and of course, it’s no other than Karina Yoo. Tall, feline-like eyed, Karina Yoo looking at her from where she was seated a couple of tables from where Minjeong was.

 

That is the exact point when Minjeong deliberately came up with the term Karina feeling. It’s akin to a tingling sensation of doom and ill-fate because every time the said feeling comes crawling inside Minjeong, Karina Yoo would be popping out of nowhere, invading Minjeong’s space and thoughts and everything in between.

 

Just like right now, when Karina Yoo decided to leave her manager (Minjeong eventually found out that Wendy was the celebrity’s long-time manager and friend) at their table and dauntlessly strode across the restaurant towards where Minjeong is kind of resting.

 

She really doesn’t know what’s going on inside the girl’s head.

 

“Hi Kim Minjeong.” Karina Yoo greets, sliding unto the seat across Minjeong with a smirk. Minjeong debates whether she should give the girl a napkin to help her wipe away the stupid smile off her face.

 

“Why are you talking to me?” asked Minjeong bluntly, too tired to beat around the bush.

 

“Have I not been talking to you for the past nights?” Karina Yoo prods.

 

“It doesn’t mean that I stopped finding it strange.” Minjeong retorts, “I’m not a fan. I believe I made it clear on the first day. So there’s actually no reason for you to talk to me.”

 

The girl leans back against her chair, crossing her arms across her chest in contemplation. She stares at Minjeong with her unreadable expression again and Minjeong seriously doesn’t know what to make out of it whenever Karina Yoo gets into that kind of look.

 

“You are so strange Kim Minjeong, you know that right?” Karina Yoo blurts out, “Never have I ever met a person that never bowed down to me.”

 

Minjeong almost snorted, almost, if not for the serious look of Karina Yoo.

 

Bow down? What did she think of herself for everyone to bow down before her?

 

“Listen, Miss Yoo..” Minjeong started, deciding that it’s the right time to knock some sense to this self-absorbed celebrity brainwashed by society that she is a higher being of some sort, “I’m not a hater. I have so much respect for those who go on stage to perform infront of thousands of people, which includes you.” Minjeong kinda hated to ruin the flash of pleased look on Karina Yoo’s face, “But you need to know that everyone has a different cup of tea.”

 

There she said it. There’s no taking back now.

 

“It might be a hard pill to swallow but it’s true.” Minjeong continues, “Just because there are a lot of people who like you, doesn’t mean that I should. I have my own set of likes and dislikes. Wants and do not wants. It’s different for each and everyone. I just happened to be one of the few who’s just not crazy about you.”

 

Karina Yoo was silent for a moment, just staring at Minjeong with her big, round eyes that holds gala—hold up. She’s not about to describe Karina Yoo’s eyes like a galaxy after saying all those stuff.

 

“So you do not find me interesting, that’s what you’re saying?”

 

Minjeong was tongue tied for a second, “I-I mean, well..” Karina Yoo just looked at her, waiting for her to continue, “If you put it that way, yes.”

 

“Why?” there was a teenee tiny bit of disappointment with the way Karina Yoo asked the three letter question.

 

“You mean why I don’t find you interesting?”

 

“That’s what I said.”

 

Minjeong huffed at the sass in the girl’s voice, “Just because. Should there be a reason why?”

 

“Everything has a reason, Kim Minjeong.” Karina Yoo insists, “There’s gotta be a reason why you don’t find me interesting.”

 

Oh my god. This girl is unbelievable.

 

“I don’t know what else to tell you, Miss Yoo coz I just don’t.” Minjeong was getting heated by the second. “I think your healthy long hair is bland. Your eyes that they say hold galaxies are nothing but a simple pair of brown eyes, nothing short of ordinary. Your face, well, you’re pretty.” Minjeong prays the celebrity wouldn’t notice the subtle warmness of her face when she said it out loud, “But so am I and the rest of the beautiful people in the world, in our own subjective way. You can sing but so are other singers. You can dance but so are other dancers. What’s so special about it?”

 

“So you’re a shallow person.” Karina Yoo concludes.

 

That didn’t sit right with Minjeong. “Excuse me?”

 

“You’re a shallow person.” Karina Yoo repeats calmly, “Everything you’ve enumerated just now all talked about what you can search through the internet and what people saw in me at first glance. It’s not even half of the person that I really am.”

 

“Well ,” Minjeong is beyond annoyed at this point, “I’m not majoring in Karina Yoo minoring in sasaeng behavior, am I? How do you expect me to know even half the person that you are?”

 

“Then get to know me.”

 

Minjeong in a breath.

 

Deep, mind-raking, breath. “What?”

 

“Get to know me and I’ll prove all your assumptions wrong.”

 

This girl, this undeniably beautiful but seriously self-absorbed human being, really thinks Minjeong has time for whatever it is she got going? Does Karina Yoo really think tolerating her every night for her antics is not enough she is now demanding for Minjeong to get to know her?

 

Minjeong is exhausted.

 

“Why are you doing this?” she sighs, frustrated to the core. “I basically just told you that I do not find you interesting. Why me of all people?”

 

Karina Yoo fell silent for a moment, as if she didn’t expect to be confronted with the question right at this moment. She looked stunned, a little, regarding Minjeong only with her round eyes and pretty face.

 

Until she breathes out, even and certain.

 

“Because unlike you Kim Minjeong,” the celebrity starts, her tone filled with tenacity it basically rocked Minjeong’s world when she finished with: “I find you interesting.”

 

Minjeong couldn’t find her words after that. As if a bucket full of ice was dumped unto her and poor Minjeong cannot find it in her muscles to move.

 

“You’re just so bold and different.” Karina Yoo elaborates, “But you’re also gentle at the same time. I can feel that there’s more to that permanent scowl on your face you always seem to wear. It’s interesting. You’re interesting..”

 

No thoughts, head empty. Just Minjeong staring at Karina Yoo with a flabbergasted look on her face for the words she just dropped.

 

“When I find interest in something, a person, anything, I want to know them better.” The celebrity adds, giving out a small, patient smile that Minjeong sees for the first time, “And since I want to know you better, it’s only proper to give you the access of getting to know me in return. It simply goes both ways. I don’t make the rules.”

 

Karina Yoo will be the death of Kim Minjeong, really.

 

“Let’s get to know each other and see where it brings us. What do you say Kim Minjeong?”